Saturday 9: A Day in the Life

Saturday 9: A Day in the Life (1967)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) According to Rolling Stone, this is the greatest Beatle song of all. What's your favorite Beatle song?

A. Let It Be.


2) "A Day in the Life" took 5 days to record. Looking back on the last five days, what did you accomplish?

A. I wrote four newspaper articles out of five due on Monday (yes, I will finish them all). I entertained members of my husband's family, in from Illinois and California. I went to physical therapy. I cleaned the house, did the laundry, wrote in my blog, took photos, watched deer, and saw the premiere of the new Survivor.

3) This song is the highlight of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band, the first album released after the Beatles gave up touring. Critics predicted that, when they abandoned live concerts, their creativity would wane. Obviously this wasn't the case. When has someone underestimated you?

A. I think I underestimate myself most of the time.


4) The song says our hero "woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head." How is your hair right now? Are you prepared to go out and face the world?

A. I'm all dressed up with nowhere to go. I've been writing but I have to go to dinner later, so I have my makeup on and my hair combed even though I could have been sitting here writing in my PJs.

5) The lyrics tell us he had to hurry to catch the bus to work. When is the last time you rode public transportation?

A. I think when I was in high school! No, wait, we took a tour bus around Asheville, NC. Does that count as public transportation?


6) "A Day in the Life" was a true Lennon-McCartney collaboration. Conventional wisdom is that Paul is easy going while John was edgy. Is your temperament more Lennon or McCartney?

A. Lennon.


7) "A Day in the Life" came out five years after the Beatles replaced their drummer. Taking over for Pete Best was undoubtedly the biggest break of Ringo Starr's career. Tell us about a time when fortune smiled on you.

A.  When I married my husband.

8) It would be hard to overestimate the Beatles' impact on popular culture. Their story and music have inspired a Broadway musical, a Las Vegas show, two movies and, according to Amazon, 900+ books. What's the most recent biography you read?

A. I'm currently reading Factory Man by Beth Macy, which is not exactly a biography but kinda sorta is. To be honest I don't read a lot of biographies.

9) The Beatles are an ongoing boon to England's tourism industry. Fans from all over the world visit Liverpool each year to see where the Beatles grew up and got their start. If you won a trip to England, tell us what you'd like to see.

A. Big Ben, Stonehenge, and my pen-pal Inga, with whom I've corresponded with more 15,000 times over the last 15 years, but never met.